The Gallic War was the campaign in which Julius Caesar conquered most of Gaul, the region of present-day France, Belgium and neighboring lands. As proconsul, he began by blocking the migration of the Helvetii in 58 BCE and went on to defeat the Germanic king Ariovistus, the Belgic tribes and the Veneti, and he bridged the Rhine and made two expeditions to Britain. In 52 BCE the Gauls rose under Vercingetorix, whose forces were besieged and defeated at Alesia. Caesar described the war in his own Commentaries, which are the main source for it, and which also served his political ambitions. The conquest made him powerful and wealthy, and it opened the way to the civil war against Pompey and the Senate.
Before and after
- from 59 BCE to 51 BCECaesar begins the conquest of Gaul
- 58 BCEPublication of Commentarii de Bello Gallico
- 58 BCEBattle of Vosges
- 58 BCEBattle of the Arar
- from 58 BCE to 51 BCEGallic War
- from 57 BCE to 935 CESilla
- 55 BCEOrigins of Theatre of Pompey
- from 54 BCE to 628 CERoman–Persian Wars
- c. 50 BCEEruption of Apoyeque
More in Wars, politics & history
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- from 74 BCE to 72 BCEThe slave revolt of Spartacus
- 24 August 410 CEAlaric and the Visigoths sack Rome
- 451 CEAetius and Theodoric stop Attila at the Catalaunian Plains
The era
This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 1st century BCE.